When thinking about the use of formal language, many people think of it as only beneficial in education and more or less irrelevant in normal daily life. This, however, is far from the truth. Language use is a very important and noticeable trait of a person. It defines you and your life; mastering it is essential for your future and lifestyle. Mastering language use is a crucial skill to obtain in life as it brings benefits in social, political, and even personal ways.
Considering one’s language mastery, appropriate language use brings social benefits as possessing good language is highly important in society as it controls people’s understanding of each other. Throughout this world’s history, influential corporations, groups, and even ordinary
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As different types of languages are commonly accepted in society, it is regularly believed that its true importance solely depends on who it caters to. In Cisneros’ story, “No Speak English,” Cisneros presents Mamacita, the main character, as someone who is directly hurt and suffocated by the English language, while the surrounding characters instead attempt to open her heart into using the language herself. This story suggests that language is indeed something that one can choose to either accept or reject, meaning it truly doesn’t have strong personal power as its significance fluctuates between people. Though this may be a valid personal stance, it is undeniable that language still carries utmost power, even with personal matters. Even with these different interpretations and beliefs on the true personal importance of language, a language’s power is unchanged as it still holds a great significance and effect in life. As Ha Jin portrays in his story, even something as small as a name can strongly define someone’s personal image. A language’s words hold great power and meaning from person to person; using the wrong choice of words can in turn negatively affect a life. Therefore, language use has eminent personal power even in daily
Languages are an important part of any culture, especially dying cultures that need to be preserved. This true for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, a group of Native American tribes who originally spoke many different languages. They were all forced onto a small reservation, completely wiping out their lifestyle and almost completely wiping out their language. Their story needs to be told, both how they almost lost their language forever, and how they are rebounding today. To preserve the culture of the Confederation of Siletz Indians, the story of their languages needs to be told because their culture has been lost, but a language offers a way to save part of the culture, and their story can provide to hope to many Native peoples
What they want to do is also retain their own language, culture, and identity” (164-167). Here, Espada highlights how language helps people absorb new cultures and offer a wider perception of our world, but that people also want to keep their sense of self-worth without losing
The Joy of Language In the passage “Mother Tongue”, the author Amy Tan writes about the relationship between her, her mother and the English language. Tan uses various rhetorical strategies to convey the experiences and thoughts she has when it comes to the influence of language on her life and those around her. Through the use of these persuasive language devices, Tan shares what she has learned growing up with different Englishes in her personal and social life. This, in turn, ultimately enables her to convey her love for the English language and the power that it holds.
“So many words were still unknown that when the butcher and the lady at the drugstore said something to me, exotic polysyllabic sounds would bloom in the midst of their sentences. Often, the speech of people in public seemed to be very loud, booming with confidence. The man behind the counter would literally ask, ‘What can I do for you?’ But by being firm and so clear, the sound of his voice said that he was a gringo; he belonged in the public society”(12). Rodriguez describes the way English sounds to him creating an image that the language was very complex to in his perspective.
Language is a living, dynamic entity that is constantly evolving, which the authors use to create their distinct narratives and perspectives. A language is a powerful tool in both "How to Tame a Wild Tongue" and "The Bullet in the Brain," reflecting and shaping the authors' and characters' experiences and identities. Both authors emphasize the impact of language on one's identity and experience through their use of language, and they encourage their readers to question dominant cultural and societal norms. Imitation, self-destruction, and the power dynamics of language are all discussed.
Martin Espada believes that language plays a substantial role in someone's identity, culture, and history. On the other hand, unfortunately, language can be used to threaten and silence others. Espada speaks out on this injustice and demonstrates how language can empower and support us. In “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School by Martin Espada, he claims that Spanish, like many other languages, represents one’s culture and identity, he explains how language is important as it shows history.
Seven years of Spanish resulted in a socially disadvantaged young child, unable to answer nuns or connect with his classmates. After his parents strengthened their English, Rodriguez lost his safe place and the necessity of communicating through Spanish. “Rare was the experience of feeling myself individualized by my family intimates” (125-127). Spanish was a part of Rodriguez for a portion of his life. Losing a part of him came with guilt, but even with that guilt, he remembers the discouragement of knowing Spanish in school and how that got him nowhere.
Written by Gloria Anzaldua, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, is an opinion easy , a retrospection of her past and a story about identity and recognition of a wild tongue. The following is a rhetorical analysis and personal response of this easy . My analysis will be divided into 4 separate parts including intended audience, main claim, purpose and situation. (a) Intended audience : The first thing that anyone who even skims through this easy would notice is Anzaldua’s multi-lingual language use.
My Rhetorical Analysis Language is a part one’s identity and culture, which allows one to communicate with those of the same group, although when spoken to someone of another group, it can cause a language barrier or miscommunication in many different ways. In Gloria Anzaldua’s article, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, which was taken from her book Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, she is trying to inform her readers that her language is what defines her. She began to mention how she was being criticized by both English and Spanish Speakers, although they both make up who she is as a person. Then, she gave convincing personal experiences about how it was to be a Chicana and their different types of languages. Moreover, despite the fact that her language was considered illegitimate, Anzaldua made it clear that she cannot get rid of it until the day she dies, or as she states (on page 26) “Wild tongues can’t be, they can only be cut out.”
The excessive control of one’s language, brings the effect of Linguistic relativity; where the words included in one’s language can affect the speaker’s view of society and
This is a problem that may be passed unnoticed because many of us may believe that this is no longer a problem in our society but sadly keeps happening today. Through her use of pathos, by telling her story, the author is persuading people not to discriminate based on the language others speak. Her purpose is to inform the reader about this issue and hopefully help prevent it from continuing to happen. Anzaldua adopts a declamatory tone in order to help her
The power of language We all have some form of language limitations, no matter where we come from and what our background is. “Mother tongue” by Amy Tan and “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua both share similar themes in their stories that demonstrate how they both deal with how different forms of the same language are portrayed in society. In both stories they speak about what society declares the right way of speech and having to face prejudgment, the two authors share their personal experiences of how they’ve dealt with it.
Throughout generations cultural traditions have been passed down, alongside these traditions came language. The language of ancestors, which soon began to be molded by the tongue of newer generations, was inherited. Though language is an everlasting changing part of the world, it is a representation of one’s identity, not only in a cultural way but from an environmental standpoint as well. One’s identity is revealed through language from an environmental point of view because the world that one is surrounded with can cause them to have their own definitions of words, an accent, etc. With newer generations, comes newer forms of languages.
Our identity is a place upon many attributes of a human being. Whether the person is someone who goes on promoting themselves to the world or not, and it shows how people communicate to others around them. Language is one of the main components that unveils the person’s identity in their everyday life, and they are many different ways to approach a person’s language. Relating to the article of Yiyun Li, “To Speak is to Blunder,” she knows two languages that has its positive and negative outcomes in her life. I to relate to her understanding of language, but a different view of what language means to me.
Language is one of the definitive advantages that allowed humans to become the dominant race on earth. Though many species may have effective forms of communication, none is as fluid and wide reaching as that which we use in everyday life. The depth in our array of languages has led to an increasing amount of disparity between the educated and uneducated, with a narrowing of opportunities for the latter. It is no coincidence that those on the in Shakespeare’s The Tempest with the greatest power are also the ones with the greatest linguistic skills.